Thursday, May 03, 2007

PLT puff pastry - pesto, leek & tomato

PLT - pesto, leek & tomato - should it be a classic in pastry's category, just like BLT (bacon, lettucs & tomato) in sandwich's? After the first bite, I found an elegant herbal sweetness with a a bit of zing kicking in. Sorry I can't be modest, everyone should start calling PLT!

To include pistachio nuts in the beginning was purely due to its aesthetic appearance, but it actually also added a nutty sweetness to the tomatoes; the whole combination is really wonderful. I used grape tomato, you may like to use cherry tomato, but as I recall after baking, the latter didn't hold its shape as good as grape tomato. But I haven't tried enough to confirm about it, kindly let me know if you have another idea :D

Use very very sharp knife (or steel cookie cutter if you make round pastry) to cut the puff pastry dough. Cover and send it back to fridge while you washing and preparing the veg.

Take out one piece of dough and lay on a baking sheet, spread a very thin layer of pesto, arrange the leek slices, spread more pesto on too, arrange the tomatoes, brush some butter, sprinkle a bit sea salt and pistachio. Repeat the rest of the dough.

I just had pistachios with my salad tonight and was thinking that I should be using them more in cooking. I also bought a bunch of basil and am planning to make pesto. This tart looks perfect! Great combination! :)